Beads and Buttons

I have these beads in a metal container guys use for nuts & bolts.


A lote of Czech beads in the compartments.

 

You're very organized, Shiloh.

 

LOL, Bakers if you ONLY knew. My house is a disaster area and I give credit to Pat for this thread as I now have the incintive to gather and store all like items in one place.

 

Cool, Shiloh... maybe your reorganizing will inspire me to do more myself!

It looked like you had some interesting metal pieces in the drawers. When you did metalsmithing, did you combine pieces you made with beads?

When I was first making beaded jewelry, I made some very, very simple things from silver or gold-filled wire, like little flattened S-shaped pieces to use as links. But I never got into soldering or anything more complicated then bending wire and hitting it with a mallet. Very rudimentary stuff.

 

Here are some Czech pendants that my mother found at an antiques show years ago. I think they were from the 20s.



Back in the day, I used a few as the focal point for antique-looking necklaces, have sold a few as pendants, and am still holding on to the few I have left. I hate parting with them!

 

Pat,

I love the czech buttons and the satsuma button - very pretty!

 

@spirit-of-shiloh

Thank you for taking the time to look. It is appreciated!

 

Thanks, Tie!

 

Oh Pat,those Czech pendants are to die for Love the emerald green especially. I would LOVE to copy some of those designs.

When I strung sterling necklaces I used liquid silver and added real coral and turquoise beads and a sterling feather or other fetish.

In silversmithing pendants,rings or bangles,I only used beads made of turquoise, coral,half drilled pearls,or sterling balls mostly. I did do a few sterling pieces with 14K gold. I should have taken pics of my stuff I made but I didn't, just the left over junk I played around with.

I did make this simple sterling ring and cut a piece of 14K off a broken bangle that my late husband gave me and rounded it then soldered it together. I always wear it for memories.It was the first piece of jewelry he gave me.


The little packet below has some sterling feathers and sterling necklace spacers.
The end clamps are to solder on to a chain necklace.
Also the little viles are jump rings of various sizes that I made by winding around dowels then using a jewelrs saw to cut.
The sterling stuff is a sheet to make the base for rings and pendants and the different wires are ring and bracelet shanks and decorative bezels to burnish around set stones.

Before I leave this earth I want to get back into silversmithing.

 

Pat, I snatched pics of your lovely pendants so I can study them,they are really eye catchers.


PS
I just looked at my bead pics and see the metal you mentioned. Those were off broken necklaces. I got most of the doo dads from old cheap jewelry.

 

Pat is this the type of wire jewelry you made? A friend gave this to me and has cultured or freshwater pearls. I don't know what the stone is yet? I would love to see some of your pieces. I watched a Youtube video on this art and its difficult,especially with arthritic fingers that I now have

 

Shilo, I like the pearl and wire wrap piece. Very interesting to look at!

My mini silver work wasn't even as complex as wire-wrapping. Just little tiny pieces of wire that I hammered flat and used as links between lengths of silver chain. Really, really basic! I don't have any pics since it was way before I started selling anything online.

 

I think I know what you mean my hammering, I made a simple treble clef for the heck of it with round wire,it looked ugly but when I took a hammer to it ,it looked pretty cool

 

Exactly.

 

Thank you Pat & Desperate fun. I appreciate that. I think they are glass. I rubbed them on the unglazed porcelain, and no marks left.
Loving all the pictures of everyone's goodies!

 

Shiloh, I meant to say I wish I had your skill in metalsmithing.

 

Pat, once you get the hang of it,its much easier than going the casting route.

 

I found a few more buttons clearing out a jewelry box, I had the little Asian button since a teen, had 3 more but they are long gone These twwo other buttons I don't remember when or where I got them?

 

Interesting buttons, Shiloh!

 

You aren't going to see jet beads this small (seed beads) and if you did find tiny jet beads they would be used in jewelry not embroidery or embellishments. In rare instances the black seed beads will be a material other than glass, like Bakelite, Gutta Percha or composition.

The same goes for buttons. If you can find an actual jet button (you won't), it would be a prize. Jet is a somewhat fragile material, generally relegated only for jewelry and unsuited for buttons, though there is a possibility that decorative (none functioning) buttens were made of jet, or jet encased in a metal button mount. The Victorian ladies' magazines and fashion journals often refer to 'jet' when in fact they mean the color black, or some sort of imitation jet.